Food

Turkey Tuesday: How to tell when the turkey is done

Food

Turkey Tuesday: How to tell when the turkey is done

We love a good roast turkey at holiday meals. And why not? This big bird easily feeds a crowd, makes delicious gravy and goes well with just about any flavouring or side dish. What's not to love? But while it is the most consumed holiday roast it's also the one that gets overcooked the most. Ok, I've never seen a roast as dry as this famous scene in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. But cries of "I told you we put it in too early" are common at most holiday gatherings. [HTML1] There seems to be an overarching fear of undercooked turkey, or poultry in general - which is fine and likely a good thing in terms of food safety. But this generally means we cook the beejeezus out of it to avoid an undercooking. This results in dry overcooked meat that lacks appeal and has to be smothered in gravy. Note: smothering in gravy is not the bad guy here. We all want to drown turkey in gravy, but moist turkey not turkey jerky . So let's all make a pact to avoid overcooked turkey this year. You'll need two things, an accurate digital instant-read thermometer and this video where food editor, Annabelle Waugh, shares our best tips for determining optimal turkey doneness. [HTML2] And if you still haven't settled on the best turkey recipe for the job, why not try
this succulent roast with a nutty stuffing?
image: Jeff Coulson, TC Media